General Pot

"Great dry pot, wish some extras were included. I got the chicken wing drypot and had to add sliced beef, potatoes, and rice cakes. $150 for the two dishes pictured."

"Huge menu but I'm here to rave about their spicy dry pot. It's a huge portion to be shared family style. The combination of flavor and ingredient is incredible, haven't had anything as good for quite awhile. Personally I highly recommend the spicy dry pot with intestine. You can select spicy level. Plenty of parking in the lot. 5% off if you pay cash. Typical chinese restaurant, zero ambiance and mediocre service, but that's how you know it's authentic. Expect to pay 25-30 per person."

"General Pot’s authentic Chongqing flavor, generous portions, and very stylish decors win me over. (Bewarned that Chongqing is the hotter one among the two most popular Sichuan cuisines.) The place comes recommended by Chihuo San Francisco Bay Area. For appetizers we ordered bean jelly with chili sauce and mixed beef & tripe with chili sauce. Both local favorites, the former from Chongqing, the latter from Chengdu with its own legend. (Its Chinese name, 夫妻肺片, translates into husband-wife lung slices. By the way, lung is not a main ingredient in this dish if used at all.) Both are quite on the mark. For the main course, we ordered spicy pig’s large intestine in dry pot. This was the first time I had dry pot. (I tend to believe that it was a relatively recent development.) It has some characteristics of a hotpot, but comes fully cooked. It also has some characteristics of a stew, but the flavor is closer to sir fry and braise. Given the restaurant is called General Pots, I highly recommend that you get one. Here is a new cooking technique that I don’t want to do at home. Of course, pork intestine is always a great ingredient for this type of cooking. General Pots is in a less densely populated open mall. We entered at peak dinner time, and get seated quickly. The service was also relatively quick. (Dry pot takes a while.) I cannot leave without a praise of its Northern Sichuan themed decor. I have seen quite a number of new Chinese restaurants in the SF Bay Area open with decors that I call all show, no-substance. Some of them also try to create a “high cuisine” environment to jack up price (without a taste to match). Not General Pots. Its decor and lighting is very stylish without being in your face. Seating is very comfortable. Definitely a place I’d like to visit again."

"Food: 5/5 DELICIOUS! Got the medium spicy grilled fish, definitely SPICYYY. Super tasty, fish super fish. The catfish is killed right before we eat so you know it’s quality fish! Also got the salt pepper fried tofu, yummy as well! Wish the onion was more cooked thoroughly. Overall definitely recommend! Service: 5/5 fast on ordering, bringing tea to table, providing additional napkins/utensils when needed Ambiance: 4/5 on the dim side. The seats are bit narrow and small. Nice fish tank when first walk in though! Small cozy restaurant."

"It has just opened the indoor seating last week. If you love spicy, this is a must go restaurant. I love spicy and order mild but too much for me, so so hot, be careful. We ordered a pot of deep fried cat fish, it said “market price” and we paid $43.5, but it’s a large portion for at least 3 adults. Because the pot is bedding with veggies, mushrooms and clear chewy noodles. Yang Chao fried rice is absolutely amazing as well."